JP2006190152A - Method for setting printing condition initial value, program, and information processor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily set a printing condition initial setting value adapted to an application desired by a user. <P>SOLUTION: On a screen 400, a printing condition setting value set arbitrarily by the user is registered as the initial value of the application corresponding to the kind of the application by an instruction from an application printing condition initialization control (application initial value registering part ) 411. When application printing condition initialization control (first operation item setting part) 411 is instructed by the user, a printing condition is initialized with a registered setting value of the application. In absence of the initial setting value of the application, a screen 300 containing prescribed value initialization control (second operation item setting part) 401 is displayed in place of application printing condition initialization control 411. When this control is instructed, the printing condition is initialized with a prescribed setting value. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing condition setting method at the time of printing by a printer in an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer, and in particular, a printing condition initial value setting method, a program, and a method for initializing a printing condition setting value via a user interface The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus.

  Under the Windows (registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation) OS of Microsoft Corporation, which is a typical operating system for personal computers, it is fundamental to use software called a general-purpose printer driver in print processing from application software (hereinafter referred to as an application). Is.

  Conventionally, in this type of printer driver, a user calls a printer setting dialog of the printer driver from an application and sets various printing conditions necessary for printing. The printer driver reads the setting information related to the printing conditions from the information file or the registry, and displays it on the user interface as the current setting via the printer setting dialog. The user sets various items on the printer setting dialog and determines the current printing conditions. Thereafter, the printer driver updates and saves the information file or the registry with the information set according to the user instruction.

  In addition, the functions of printer drivers these days are extremely diverse, and various items of printing conditions such as document size, output size, paper feed method, paper type, number of copies, page layout, stamp, print quality, and color settings can be set. It is possible. In the printer driver user interface, if there are many print setting items and complicated dependencies, register several setting items or all setting items as a set, and register the registered settings. Some have a function of changing a plurality of setting items at once by a user's selection.

  This function is used when setting values are registered in advance according to various applications, and the registered values are selected and printed. For example, when printing from an application related to a word processor, there are many opportunities to set a page layout for printing a plurality of pages on one page, set the number of copies, and set double-sided printing. Also, when printing from an application related to image processing, there are many opportunities to make settings related to print quality and color. If the printing conditions are registered in advance for printing from each application, the desired printing conditions can be obtained only by selecting the registered contents during subsequent printing.

  However, there is an annoyance that requires the user to select registered contents for each type of application.

On the other hand, Patent Document 2 proposes a technique for identifying an application and reflecting a printing condition corresponding to the application on a user interface at the initial startup of the printer driver.
JP 2000-222159 A JP-A-8-320781

  However, even in the same application, printing conditions vary depending on the situation where printing is to be performed.

  For example, an image processing application tries to obtain a final product that has been printed under A0 size, color printing, glossy paper, high resolution quality, error diffusion processing, etc printing conditions, and this setting value is given to the application. Even when registered in correspondence, if you want to quickly check only the image layout with the print result, temporarily change the settings to plain paper, low resolution quality, dither processing, etc. In many cases, the final product is printed with the original registration contents after the printing is confirmed.

  As described above, when the printing condition is changed from the setting value registered for each application to an arbitrary setting value, the user must change the setting again in order to return the printing condition to the registered contents. Annoying annoyance occurred.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides a printing condition initial value setting method, a program, and an information processing apparatus that can easily set a printing condition initial setting value suitable for an application desired by a user. The purpose is to provide.

  A printing condition initial value setting method according to the present invention is a method for setting an initial value of a printing condition in a printing process via a user interface, and a printing condition setting value arbitrarily set by a user is set as an application type. An application initial value registration step for registering as an application initial value correspondingly, a printing condition initialization instruction step for the user to instruct initialization of the printing conditions, and an initialization instruction in the printing condition initialization instruction step When the setting value registered in the application initial value registration step exists, the printing condition initialization step is performed to initialize the printing condition with the registered setting value. .

  In the application initial value registration step, the user can register an arbitrarily set printing condition setting value as an application initial value in association with the application type. For an application that has once registered, it is possible to immediately initialize the printing condition with the registered printing condition setting value immediately after the printing condition setting step even after temporarily changing the printing condition setting. .

  In the printing condition initialization step, when initialization is instructed in the printing condition initialization instruction step, if there is no setting value registered in the application initial value registration step, a predetermined setting value is set. It is preferable to initialize the printing conditions. As a result, the printing condition can be initialized with a predetermined (default) setting value for an application for which initial value registration is not performed.

  Each of the steps is preferably executed based on a user operation on a user interface screen.

  A registration information display step for explicitly displaying on the user interface screen whether or not the setting value registered in the application initial value registration step exists may be provided. For example, the registration information display step includes a first operation item setting unit for returning to the setting value registered for the application when the registered setting value exists on the user interface screen; When the set value does not exist, the second operation item setting unit for returning to a predetermined set value determined in advance is switched and displayed regardless of the application type. As a result, the user can immediately recognize from the screen whether or not the initial value registration has been performed for the current operation application.

  A step of confirming from which application the application is started when the user interface is started; and an automatic setting step for setting the registered setting value if the application is registered when the user interface is started. Also good. As a result, it is possible to initialize the printing conditions automatically with the set values registered for the application upon activation from the application. In addition, the application initial value registration step, the printing condition initialization step, and the registration information display step can be performed based on the confirmed application type.

  In the information processing apparatus, a printing condition initial value setting program for setting an initial value of printing conditions in printing processing, a recording medium storing the program, or the program is installed in the information processing apparatus via a user interface. It is also possible to grasp as an information processing apparatus.

  Furthermore, an information processing apparatus according to the present invention is an information processing apparatus for setting an initial value of a printing condition in a printing process via a user interface, and corresponds to an application type with a printing condition setting value arbitrarily set by a user. Application initial value registration means for registering as an initial value of the application, printing condition initialization instruction means for the user to instruct initialization of the printing conditions, and initialization is instructed by the printing condition initialization instruction means. When there is a set value registered by the application initial value registering unit, a printing condition initializing unit for initializing a printing condition with the registered setting value is provided.

  In this information processing apparatus, each of the means can be executed based on a user operation on the user interface screen.

  Registration information display means for explicitly displaying on the user interface screen whether or not there is a setting value registered by the application initial value registration means may be included.

  The registration information display means further includes a first operation item setting unit for returning to the setting value registered for the application when the registered setting value exists on the user interface screen, and the registration When the set value does not exist, the second operation item setting unit for returning to a predetermined set value that is determined in advance may be switched and displayed regardless of the application type.

  The information processing apparatus further includes means for confirming from which application the application is started when the user interface is started, and an automatic setting for setting the registered setting value if the application is registered when the user interface is started. Setting means.

  Further, the application initial value registration unit, the printing condition initialization unit, and the registration information display unit may perform processing based on the confirmed application type.

  According to the printing condition initial value setting method, program, and information processing apparatus of the present invention, setting printing conditions for various applications via the user interface becomes simpler and operability can be improved.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a printing system to which the present invention is applied. This system includes a host computer 100 that is an information processing apparatus that executes basic software (OS), applications, and the like, and a printer 200 that prints a document transmitted from the host computer 100.

  The host computer 100 is composed of the following units. The CPU 1 controls each device connected to the system bus 3 based on a control program stored in a storage device such as an HDD 2 (hard disk drive), and controls processing of applications, printer drivers, and the like. The RAM 4 is a memory that mainly provides a work area for the CPU 1. On the RAM 4, an OS, a device driver (including a printer driver), and the like are resident as system programs. The HDD 2 may be another storage medium, and may be configured by a recording medium 5 such as an FD (flexible disk), a CD-ROM, or an MO. Specifically, the input unit 6 is a user command input device including a mouse, a keyboard, and the like, and receives instruction inputs such as icons and buttons on various windows provided with commands from the user directly or through a user interface. The display unit 7 includes a display device such as a CRT display or a liquid crystal display, and displays a user interface screen (for example, a window) such as an OS, an application, and a printer driver. The communication unit 8 is connected to a printer via a parallel interface such as IEEE 1284, a serial interface such as IEEE 1394 or USB, and a network such as a LAN, and performs data transmission / reception with the printer.

  The configuration of the printer 200 is as follows. The CPU 11 executes a control program stored in the ROM 12 that provides the program, and controls access to each device connected to the system bus 13. The RAM 14 mainly provides a work area for the CPU 11. Note that the capacity of the RAM 14 can be easily expanded by an optional RAM or the like. The ROM 12 stores a control program to be executed by the CPU 11, font data for printing, and the like. The operation unit 15 includes an LED, a liquid crystal display, operation buttons, and the like, and receives information from the user and displays information. The transport unit 16 controls the transport of printing paper inside the printer. The recording unit 17 is a part that performs printing on printing paper by an arbitrary recording method such as an electrophotographic method or an inkjet method. The communication unit 18 is connected to a host computer via a parallel interface such as IEEE 1284, a serial interface such as IEEE 1394 or USB, and a network such as a LAN, and performs data transmission / reception with the host computer.

  FIG. 2 shows an example of the software configuration of the host computer 100 to which the present invention is applied.

  The host computer 100 includes applications 302a to 302n, an operating system 301, a printer driver 303, and a printing condition setting information database (DB) 304.

  The operating system 301 is basic software that makes it possible to use the applications 302 a,..., 302 n and the printer driver 303 on the host computer 100.

  The applications 302a to 302n are application software that operates under the operating system 301 running on the host computer 100 and realizes respective purposes such as document, table, image, graphic, and database creation. Depends on the purpose of the user.

  The printer driver 303 is driver software (computer program) that controls the printer 200 and operates under an operating system 301 that runs on the host computer 100. The printer driver 303 has a user interface that receives setting of printing conditions of the printer 200 from the user. The user interface of the printer driver 303 can be opened from the operating system 301 or from the applications 302a to 302n, and provides an opportunity for setting / confirming printing conditions.

  The printing condition setting information DB 304 is a database in which the printer driver 303 stores data for obtaining initial printing conditions such as when the user interface is activated. If the user changes and holds the printing conditions, the change contents It is updated at. In the present embodiment, the initial printing conditions corresponding to the applications 302a to 302n, the predetermined initial printing conditions of the printer driver 303, and the existing value printing conditions updated with some changes from the initial printing conditions are stored.

  The printer driver 303 receives the document data created by the applications 302 a to 302 n, converts the document data into print data based on the print conditions accepted by the user interface, and outputs the print data to the printer 200.

  FIG. 3 shows an example of a user interface screen for setting printing conditions provided by the printer driver 303 according to this embodiment. Here, two screens 300 and 400 that are switched to each other depending on conditions are shown.

  The user sets various printing condition items 311 to 314 such as paper type, paper feeding method, print quality, and color mode as necessary. The predetermined value initialization control 401 (second operation item setting unit) on the user interface sets the printing conditions such as the paper feeding method 312, the print quality 313, and the color mode 314 changed by the user according to the predetermined settings of the printer driver 303. It has a function to return to the initial value. In this specification, “control” represents an operation item setting section displayed on the user interface screen, and includes, for example, operation buttons, check boxes, radio buttons, pull-down menus, and the like. The “predetermined initial value” is a fixed printing condition group prepared in advance that seems to be optimal for the model of the printer 200.

  The user changes various print condition items 311 to 314 such as paper type, paper feed method, print quality, and color mode to setting values that seem to be optimal according to the applications 302a to 302n, and these setting values are changed to the application. When the initial value condition for document printing from the user is desired, it is executed by an instruction of an “initial value registration” control 412 (application initial value registration unit) for registering as an initial value for printing conditions for each of the applications 302a to 302n. In the present embodiment, the application print condition initialization control 411 (first operation item setting unit), which is an operation button labeled “return to application standard” for initializing application print conditions, is arbitrarily set by the user. This is for returning to the initial value of the printing condition for the current operation application that has already been registered by the initial value registration control 412 after setting the printing condition. The application print condition initialization control 411 on the screen 400 is for initializing a predetermined value in this embodiment when the initial value registration control 412 does not register the print condition initial value for the current operation application. By switching the display to a predetermined value initialization control 401 (second operation item setting unit) (screen 300), which is an operation button described as “return to standard”, the user is shown whether or not registered. Is possible.

  FIG. 4 is an example of print condition initial value information registered for each of the applications 302a to 302n in the print condition setting information DB 304. Corresponding to application names 302a, 302b... (And version information), setting values of various printing condition items such as paper type, paper feeding method, printing quality, color mode, presence / absence of double-sided printing, number of copies, etc. are stored. The A fixed printing condition group prepared in advance, which seems to be optimal for the model of the printer 200 that does not depend on the application, can be easily stored in the printing condition setting information DB 304. In this case, the application name is the printer 200. This is realized by making it unique such as the model name.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a flow of processing in print condition setting of the printer driver 303 according to the present embodiment. A program representing the execution procedure of the process of this flowchart is stored in the HDD 2 or the like, and this process is realized by the CPU reading it, interpreting it and executing it.

  When the applications 302a to 302n issue a print condition setting request to the printer driver 303, the printer driver 303 displays a user interface and provides the user with a place for setting various print conditions. The printer driver 303 acquires the name of the application that issued the print condition setting request as a preparation for starting the user interface (step S500). As a method for acquiring the application name, a method using a function provided by the operating system 301 is disclosed.

  In step S501, it is determined whether an initial print condition value for the acquired application name exists in the print condition setting information DB 304. If registration information corresponding to the application name exists, the process advances to step S502 to read registration information from the printing condition setting information DB 304. In step S503, a flag (not shown) for displaying the application print condition initialization control 411 is turned ON. This flag is stored in a predetermined area in the RAM 4.

  If the print condition initial value for the acquired application name does not exist in the print condition setting information DB 304 in step S501, the existing value print condition of the printer driver 303 is read from the print condition setting information DB 304. In step S505, the flag for displaying the application print condition initialization control 411 is turned OFF.

  Next, in step S506, the printer driver 303 displays a user interface screen. If the application print condition initialization control display flag is ON, a screen 400 including the application print condition initialization control 411 is displayed as a part of the user interface. Display as. When the application print condition initialization control display flag is OFF, the screen 300 including the predetermined value initialization control 401 is displayed as a part of the user interface.

  After the user interface screen is displayed, a process for a user operation is performed. In step S507, it is determined whether an initial value registration control 412 has been instructed as an example of a user operation. When the initial value registration control 412 is instructed, the printer driver 303 updates the printing condition setting information DB 304. Update here is a process to update the information for the application name that issued the print condition setting request under the print conditions currently set on the user interface. If the information for the application name already exists, Then, after displaying the overwrite update message, etc., update. If there is no information for the application name, new registration is performed. In step S509, the application print condition initialization control display flag is turned ON.

  In step S510, an application print condition initialization control 411 is displayed. This step S510 means switching to the application print condition initialization control 411 when the predetermined value initialization control 401 has been displayed until just before. It may be determined whether or not the predetermined value initialization control 401 is displayed immediately before step S510, and only when the predetermined value initialization control 401 is displayed, step S510 may be executed. .

  Next, when it is determined in step S507 that the initial value registration control 412 has not been instructed, it is determined in step S511 whether the predetermined value initialization control 401 or the application print condition initialization control 411 has been instructed to the user. judge. If it is determined that the predetermined value initialization control 401 or the application print condition initialization control 411 is instructed, in step S512, whether the predetermined value initialization control 401 is instructed or the application print condition initialization control 411 is instructed. In order to determine whether or not the application print condition initialization control display flag is checked.

  If the application print condition initialization control display flag is ON, the print condition initial value registration information corresponding to the application name is read from the print condition setting information DB 304, and the user interface is updated with this information in step S515 (initial ).

  If the application print condition initialization control display flag is OFF, predetermined print condition initial value information of the printer driver 303 is read from the print condition setting information DB 304, and the user interface is updated with this information in step S515. (initialize.

  If it is determined that the user operation is other than steps S507 and S511, it is determined in step S516 whether the user interface display is ended. If not, the process according to each other user operation is performed in step S517. Execute.

  Thus, according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, if the application print condition initialization control 411 is displayed, it can be seen that there is a set value registered for the current operation application. Therefore, after temporarily changing the setting contents and performing test printing or the like, if the application print condition initialization control 411 is pointed, the setting contents can be immediately returned to the setting values registered for the application. .

  If the predetermined value initialization control 401 is displayed, it can be understood that the setting value has not yet been registered for the current operation application. If necessary, the predetermined value is selected and registered according to the instruction of the initial value registration control 412. can do.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but various modifications and changes other than those mentioned above can be made.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a printing system to which the present invention is applied. It is a figure which shows an example of the software configuration of the host computer to which this invention is applied. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen as an example of a user interface for setting printing conditions provided by the printer driver according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the printing condition initial value information registered for every application of printing condition setting information DB in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the flow of a process in the printing condition setting of the printer driver which concerns on embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 3 ... System bus 5 ... Recording medium 6 ... Input part 7 ... Display part 8 ... Communication part 13 ... System bus 15 ... Operation part 16 ... Conveyance part 17 ... Recording part 18 ... Communication part 100 ... Host computer 200 ... Printer 300, 400 ... screen 301 ... operating systems 302a to 302n ... application 303 ... printer driver 304 ... print condition setting information DB
311 to 314: print condition item 401: predetermined value initialization control (second operation item setting unit)
411... Application print condition initialization control (first operation item setting unit)
412 ... Initial value registration control

Claims (15)

A method for setting an initial value of a printing condition in a printing process via a user interface,
An application initial value registration step for registering print condition setting values arbitrarily set by the user as application initial values in association with application types;
A printing condition initialization instruction step for the user to instruct initialization of printing conditions;
When initialization is instructed in the print condition initialization instruction step, if there is a setting value registered in the application initial value registration step, printing for initializing the print condition with the registered setting value A printing condition initial value setting method comprising: a condition initialization step.   In the printing condition initialization step, when initialization is instructed in the printing condition initialization instruction step, if there is no setting value registered in the application initial value registration step, a predetermined setting value is set. The printing condition initial value setting method according to claim 1, wherein the printing condition is initialized by.   3. The printing condition initial value setting method according to claim 1, wherein each step is executed based on a user operation on a user interface screen.   4. The printing condition according to claim 3, further comprising a registration information display step of explicitly displaying on the user interface screen whether or not the setting value registered in the application initial value registration step exists. Initial value setting method.   The registered information display step includes: a first operation item setting unit for returning to a registered setting value for the application when the registered setting value exists on the user interface screen; and the registered 5. The printing condition initial stage according to claim 4, wherein when there is no set value, a second operation item setting unit for returning to a predetermined set value set in advance is displayed regardless of the application type. Value setting method. Confirming from which application the user interface was started, and
6. The printing condition initial stage according to claim 1, further comprising: an automatic setting step for setting the registered setting value if the application is registered when the user interface is activated. Value setting method.   7. The printing condition initial value setting according to claim 6, wherein the application initial value registration step, the printing condition initialization step, and the registration information display step perform processing based on the type of the confirmed application. Method. In the information processing apparatus, a print condition initial value setting program for setting an initial value of a print condition in print processing via a user interface,
An application initial value registration step for registering print condition setting values arbitrarily set by the user as application initial values in association with application types;
A printing condition initialization instruction step for the user to instruct initialization of printing conditions;
When initialization is instructed in the printing condition initialization instruction step, if there is a setting value registered in the application initial value registration step, printing that initializes the printing condition with the registered setting value A printing condition initial value setting program comprising: a condition initialization step.   In the printing condition initialization step, when initialization is instructed in the printing condition initialization instruction step, if there is no setting value registered in the application initial value registration step, a predetermined setting value is set. 9. The printing condition initial value setting program according to claim 8, wherein the printing condition is initialized in step.   10. The printing condition initial value setting program according to claim 8, wherein each step is executed based on a user operation on a user interface screen.   11. The printing according to claim 10, further comprising a registration information display step for explicitly displaying on the user interface screen whether or not the setting value registered in the application initial value registration step exists. Condition initial value setting program.   The registered information display step includes: a first operation item setting unit for returning to a registered setting value for the application when the registered setting value exists on the user interface screen; and the registered 12. The initial print condition according to claim 11, wherein when there is no set value, the second operation item setting unit for returning to a predetermined set value that is set in advance is switched and displayed regardless of the application type. Value setting program. A step of confirming from which application the application is started when the user interface is started,
The printing condition initial value setting program according to any one of claims 8 to 12, further comprising: an automatic setting step for setting the registered setting value if the application is registered at the time of activation.   The print condition initial value setting according to claim 13, wherein the application initial value registration step, the print condition initialization step, and the registration information display step perform processing based on the type of the confirmed application. program. An information processing apparatus for setting an initial value of a printing condition in a printing process via a user interface,
An application initial value registration means for registering print condition setting values arbitrarily set by the user as application initial values in correspondence with application types;
A printing condition initialization instruction means for the user to instruct initialization of printing conditions;
When initialization is instructed by the print condition initialization instruction unit, if there is a setting value registered by the application initial value registration unit, printing for initializing the printing condition with the registered setting value An information processing apparatus comprising: a condition initialization unit.

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